When in Rome
by CharmedEgo
Summary: Aria's convinced it's a dream. When it's not, you better damn well believe she's not gonna let this kid stay the way he is! As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do...


Hi everyone. So sorry for the very long unplanned hiatus – it's been what? Three years or something?

Yeah… Studying (and real life) does that to you (double diploma YAY! *note the sarcasm*)

Regarding my previous stories, I'm thinking about rewriting them to improve their contents… I've got the ideas in my head, but haven't had time to implement them.

SO! While you're waiting for an update/rewrite, a few new ideas came to me after reading some awesome Pokémon fanfics and I got this idea after a little dream I had sometime last week and it wouldn't get out of my head. I present to you my new story, When in Rome.

The tale is about an SIOC who wakes up in the Pokémon world but tries to convince herself it's a dream at first. After having the truth slapping her in the face (not quite literally), she walks to the nearest town which is coincidentally Pallet Town. Le gasp! There, Professor Oak helps her out and after some time, she meets our protagonist Ash Ketchum. Determined to not let the kid become the same as the anime, she proposes a new program to allow her to travel with him. Read on to find out how she'll do! Because, as the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do...

* * *

 **When in Rome**

 **Chapter One**

I went to sleep that night thinking it was just going to be another ordinary sleep.

I was right.

But the dream wasn't.

You see, in the dream I was standing in a blank whit space. Then I heard a "zooming" noise and a screen popped up in front of me, displaying the words 'Pick a gender.'

Obviously I chose female. Duh.

Another replaced it asking for my age. I decided to go with my original age, 21.

Another screened replaced it with the words 'Pick your looks.' Below the text were eight boxes filled with different body parts (like limbs and head shape), all in different races. Eventually I chose something which looked a bit like me, but more athletic. And anime-like. Definitely better.

Once done with my selections, another screen popped up with options for articles of clothing, all anime-like. I saw some cat ears and fox tails and had a quiet laugh over it. In the end, I decided to wear something that was comfortable and suitable for both the outdoors and city-life.

So there I was after what felt like an hour later; long black hair, tan skin, dark brown eyes, standing at 5'7" wearing a black and red plaid shirt, white and black hoodie jacket, dark blue jeans and black combat boots. I was also carrying a blue and black backpack.

The real surprise came when yet another screen appeared.

'Please choose your starter Pokémon.' And underneath the text were the pictures of Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.

I didn't feel shocked or anything; somehow I knew this would happen. It's a dream and all.

"Well, all three have great practical applications for in the wild. There's Bulbasaur; it could help me forage for edible plants and fruits and whatnot, but if I choose Charmander, it could help me with lighting fires and keep me warm as well as being a source of light in dark places. And then there's Squirtle; it could help me find a clean water source or even _become_ the water source itself… But I don't think I want to drink any water from a Pokémon unless it's absolutely necessary…" I mumbled to myself, hip cocked to one side and one hand on my chin as the other supported it.

I tilted my head to the side and began to argue with myself, "Yeah, but let's take into account their final evolved forms. If we start off with Venusaur we can see that its huge size will be a disadvantage in some areas, not to mention its speed. If we look at Charizard, it's pretty good, I mean, it can _fly_. And then there's Blastoise; it could help me travel across large bodies of water… but then again, there are a _lot_ of water types we could get along the way…"

Suddenly a beeping sound interrupted my musing – there was a timer on the screen, counting down from 30 seconds. Without (much) hesitation, I slammed my hand on the picture of Charmander. A pokéball appeared where my hand was on the screen. I studied it intently, a bemused frown upon my face. 'How strange…' I thought.

A list appeared in front of me on – you guessed it – a screen. 'Please choose your preferred remaining Pokémon for your team of six.'

"What?"

Scrolling down the list, I had a random thought, 'This is just like SAO – except, you know, I hope there won't be any killing…'

Upon perusing the list, I discovered the only Pokémon listed were from generation I, excluding the starters and legendaries.

"I want my team to hopefully be level 30 with _at least_ a few Pokémon able to be accountable for multiple types of moves – and speaking of, I'd really appreciate it if Pokémon were allowed double their moveset, unlike in the anime and games, like, eight moves instead of four – that would be brilliant," I muttered as I continued to scroll up and down.

Sticking out my tongue, I chose my team with the purpose of their practical applications in the wilderness, and their evolved forms. It was hard but I eventually ended up with Abra, Gastly, Rhyhorn, Paras and Lapras.

Abra because it's a psychic type and would be able to teleport me in emergencies, not to mention the capable moveset it will have once fully evolved. It could even be trained to speak with me telepathically.

Gastly because it's a ghost type and could help me out in the dark or in places that are rumoured to be supernatural and/or haunted by other ghosts. Gastly will surely be a resourceful Pokémon once fully evolved.

Rhyhorn, though not the brightest tool in the shed, is a powerhouse, no doubt about it. The moveset it will have is astronomical. Rhyhorn could help me navigate through caves and tunnels and around mountains.

Paras is one Pokémon most people will overlook, however, I've chosen this Pokémon because of the practical and medicinal uses of its spores and mushrooms. It could also help me forage for edible herbs and plants.

Lapras was mainly chosen for the purpose of ferrying me across large bodies of water, and also because I needed to balance the team out with a water type.

Once done with my selections, five more pokéballs appeared in front of me. I pocketed them immediately.

As the room returned to its previous state of nothingness, I had some last minute thoughts as I felt myself waking up. 'I hope my team are – or close to being – fully evolved… I wonder if I'll get to help Ash from the anime? Or maybe even Red from the games!'

I woke up to a forest canopy.

My immediate thought was that I'd been kidnapped, or worse, sleepwalked in my pyjamas!

Looking around and trying not to panic, I noticed that I was wearing the same thing as I did in the dream. Feeling around, I felt something small, hard and round on my belt.

It was a pokéball.

I couldn't help it – I screamed.

"I thought it was a dream – wait, maybe it's still a dream!" I pinched myself. Sadly, I didn't wake up. So I decided to slap myself. Hard. Most stupid mistake yet.

"Ye-ouch!" I yelped in pain. No, definitely not a dream then. I gripped the pokéball in my hand, ready to use it as a weapon.

"If this is some sort of elaborate joke, this is where it stops!" I yelled out hysterically, almost hyperventilating.

Receiving no reply, I gulped and looked down at the pokéball in my hand and then gazed towards my belt where another five pokéballs rested.

Taking in a deep breath, I gripped the ball just a bit tighter, closing my eyes. As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do…

My eyes snapped open in determination. I pressed the button on the pokéball to enlarge it and threw it in front of me.

* * *

So how was it? Hooked yet? If you want more, please favourite and review! See you soon!

DiiDii :D


End file.
